Beyond
by Pyjamapants
Summary: Post Ptolemy's Gate, so you should probably read that first. Nathaniel awakes in a seemingly idyllic environment, while Kitty and Bartimaeus try to forget. Rated T because its not as innocent as it seems. ON HIATUS
1. Chapter 1

Yes, I'll admit it, it wasn't the most exciting or admirable of jobs, but it was definitely a job worth doing. Well, seeing as I was enslaved at the time, no job was _really_ worth doing, but of all of them, this was a good one. And when I say "good," I mean "not bad," and when I say "not bad," I mean – well, you get the picture. In truth, it was not good at all, unless you enjoy making a fool of yourself.

Let me just fill you in on a few details, as otherwise your tiny human mind might find everything else difficult to comprehend (no offence). My current master was a dark-haired young man named Paul. Well, he didn't tell me his _birth_ name, obviously, but Paul was the one written on his collar.

My charge was embarrassing in type, and demeaning in nature. Yes, he charged me to get his shopping. The _cheek _of some people! Well, I'd soon set him straight: though he didn't give me his birth-name, he failed to specify what type of pie he wanted! My revenge would come soon in the form of a large "chocolate" pastry.

As I strode down the brightly lit, Christmassy London streets, I had to keep telling myself that I hadn't lost my touch. My guise was that of a boy, about seventeen years of age, with closely cropped dark hair. I _really _needed to find new inspiration for my guises – my most common ones were of previous masters, if they could be called that.

Something stirred at the end of the street. It seemed to be a shadow of some vaguely humanoid creature, yet I could see no such being anywhere. I quickly scanned all seven planes, and all but the seventh revealed nothing of any interest. On the seventh plane, the shadow became a dark green haze that ebbed around the street corner.

I advanced cautiously, not that I was afraid, of course, but because there was still a single demon hybrid on the loose, and caution was always in my best interests. As I approached, the greenish fog seemed to dissipate, and I was able to return to my master's house. No doubt there would be plenty more demeaning jobs for me that would be better suited for an imp to carry out.

Paul was not an overly cruel master; rather, he was quite neglectful. Fortunately for him, he was not neglectful when it came to summoning us great and noble spirits, so I didn't get a chance to devour him before…sorry, I'm getting too ahead of myself.

"Is this a _chocolate_ pie?" Paul asked upon inspection of my shopping bag.

"If you say so, sir," I grinned slyly as he cut himself a slice before dismissing me. I swear, I could hear his yells all the way from the Other Place. Ah, me. He must have _really _enjoyed that pie!

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Nathaniel opened his eyes slowly as he turned to take in his surroundings. It took a moment for him to remember who he was – let alone where he was and how he got there. Suddenly it all came flooding back to him: Bartimaeus, Kitty, Makepeace, Hopkins, Nouda, and…his own destruction. The latter part confused him - if he was dead, then was this…heaven?

"Where am I?" he wondered aloud. He looked around again, his head slightly clearer. Nathaniel stood in a stone ring, which distinctly reminded him of Stonehenge; beyond the ring were forests and crystal-clear springs; beyond that were snowy mountains, and beyond that…Nathaniel could no longer make anything out.

It was about this time that Nathaniel realised that he was completely naked, but then, who would need clothes in a place such as this? The temperature was warm, and he felt no need to cover himself, as there was nobody to cover himself from.

Nathaniel leapt into the crystal lake, sending ripples across its smooth surface. Suddenly, he was hit by a memory, which was strange, as it was not his own. Apparently, Bartimaeus had had quite an impact upon him. Colors flitted past his vision, Babylon and Egypt flew by, he caught a faint glimpse of Solomon, of Ptolemy, and he was back, floating on the surface of the water.

Nathaniel's head was aching from the sheer enormity of it all. He clambered out of the pool, now, and allowed the warm sun to heat him dry. As he lay there, it occurred to him that if this really was "heaven," then surely Ptolemy, Solomon, and even Mr and Mrs Underwood would be here. Even as he pondered this, he drifted off into a deep sleep.

**(A/N: Please do tell me if you think I should go on…or if I should just stop now) **


	2. Chapter 2

As Kitty sat on the plane, waiting to be taken to Egypt, she couldn't help but wonder what happened after death. How could she not, with Mandrake – no – Nathaniel's recent demise?

She settled down into her seat and tried to think of other things. Anything other than that stupid, self-centred magician would do, but her mind kept drawing her back to him. This train of thought led to her thinking of Bartimaeus, and whether he had a new master yet; and of the final demon hybrid that still roamed the earth.

She'd heard that it had been sighted recently near Warrington, so she wasn't particularly worried about it at that moment, though she did occasionally catch herself fretting over it.

Kitty was very interested in the culture and religion of the foreign country she was going to, so she'd brought along a book to read. According to this book, the favoured form of djinni in ancient Egypt was a cat or a jackal. She delved eagerly into the books depths and was so engrossed in it, she barely noticed the plane lift off.

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Nathaniel's eyes snapped open and he gave a start. The sun was almost hidden behind the horizon, and it bathed the landscape in an otherworldly amber light. There was a very tranquil feel to the place, and Nathaniel felt that he could sleep there for weeks and not notice.

However, he forced himself awake and off the ground, before he moved on in a southerly direction (with the setting sun on his right). A witch-like cry echoed out in the silence as a bird squawked high above Nathaniel. He shuddered and whispered absent-mindedly to himself, "Almost gave me a heart attack."

The bird was bright blue, with a yellow breast and plumes standing proudly above its head. Nathaniel paused and gazed at it for a moment, his mind drifting off momentarily, before he realised he wasn't wearing his lenses: this bird could be a djinni in disguise!

Nathaniel shuddered again before moving on aimlessly. Soon the warmth of the sun was gone, and was replaced by a maliciously bitter wind that stung his bare flesh. Nathaniel's teeth chattered uncontrollably as he thought silently to himself, "isn't there any shelter around here?" Even as Nathaniel thought this, the moon came out from behind a cloud, bright and full, and shone down upon a strange castle that seemed almost out of place.

The castle's enormous towers and stained glass windows made Nathaniel feel small and insignificant, but he felt that he would surely die (again?) if he stayed out in the cold for much longer, so he hurried quickly over to the enormous wooden doors.

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As Kitty stepped through the enormous wooden doors, she was struck by the sheer enormity and splendor of it all. The guide was busy saying that the entire building had been rebuilt after a huge fire had burnt most of it down, but Kitty wasn't listening: she was more interested in looking at the huge mirror on the wall that reached to the ceiling.

Kitty gazed at the mirror, mesmerised, and she almost thought she could see shadows moving across it, without the people. Kitty's own reflection stared amusedly back at her, as if it was mocking her. "Silly fool," it seemed to whisper, "just a silly little girl…" Kitty blinked and shook her aching head. "I need a glass of water…" she thought.

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Nathaniel stared at his own reflection, that screamed silently at him, "go away, foolish boy!" Nathaniel thought he saw Kitty's face swim across it's surface, but he felt so woozy that he passed it off as his imagination.

The surface of the mirror rippled suddenly, like water, and it reminded Nathaniel of a movie he'd wanted to see when he was younger – though he couldn't remember it's name.

The shimmering glass called silently to him, "closer…closer…" Nathaniel found that his hand was raised and inching slowly toward the surface of the glass. The face of the mirror latched onto the tips of his fingers and pulled him forward, oblivious to his yells. "Aaargh!" Nathaniel cried, trying to pull back, but he fell, almost immediately, headfirst into the syrupy glass.

Nathaniel immediately felt very strange, as though he was everywhere and nowhere at once. "Hello?" he called out into the darkness, and his voice echoed back to him. Suddenly, he was in London, staring about the Christmassy streets. Walking toward him was himself carrying several shopping bags.

His doppelganger seemed completely ignorant of him until he was a few feet away. Nathaniel didn't know how he knew, but he sensed that this was Bartimaeus. The djinni paused for a moment before he approached, looking furtively around. Nathaniel's ex-slave slowly faded away until he became the ornate carvings on the ceiling of the castle. All Nathaniel could think was, "what a weird hallucination!"

Nathaniel's thoughts were cut short as an old man with a bushy beard and a bald head barked out "What-are-you-doing-in-my-house?!"


	3. Chapter 3

**(A/N: I hope that this chapter doesn't not fail to displease; as I have been incessantly badgered by various proliferated, yet abundantly obstinate, fools, whom have arisen within me a certain cantankerousness at their intransigence – that means _you_ nobi-nobi. Also, to clarify, I very much doubt that there will be any slash/femme-slash/yaoi/yuri/shounen-ai etc in this fic)**

Anyway…

Nathaniel hurriedly stood up, becoming increasingly aware that he was naked. "You wouldn't happen to have any clothes, would you?" he asked. The man stood stock still for a while, and Nathaniel started to wonder whether he was deaf. "I said-…" Nathaniel started to say, but no sooner were the words out of his mouth than some form of foliot appeared at the man's side. It was carrying what appeared to be an old bag of potatoes.

Once Nathaniel was wearing the itchy fabric, the man asked again: "What are you doing in my house?" Nathaniel hesitated, unsure where he should begin. "Well?" the man asked, his foreign accent beginning to get on Nat's nerves. "Are you deaf? Or just stu-pad?" he pronounced the last syllable oddly, as though he was not used to saying it.

Nathaniel decided to start at the beginning – or near enough the beginning. He went through how his treacherous 'friend' Makepeace had almost caused the end of the world, and his death, and how it ultimately brought him here. The bald bearded man was not amused. "I see," he said. "Follow me." He strode toward a spiral staircase near the opposite end of the room. "Follow!" he barked, and Nathaniel quickly fell into step behind him.

The room below was so huge that 'huge' wasn't an adequate description. Despite the room's gargantuan size, the only thing in the entire place was a raised pedestal, with a silvery orb atop it. "Touch it," the man commanded, his beard wobbling as he spoke. The orb seemed to call to Nathaniel; the shadows moving across its surface drawing him in.

**(A/N: Please note that from this point onward, there may be a _slight _bit of bloodiness etc. You can't say I didn't warn you.)**

The second Nathaniel's fingertips touched the orb, a sharp pain shot p his arm and into his head. Bright red spots danced in front of Nathaniel's eyes. Flames burst from the walls. The man stared bleakly, his face a stone sculpture of no emotion.

Vivid images flitted across Nathaniel's field of vision. He saw himself, yet it was not himself. His evil-eyed doppelganger smiled darkly at him, a sharp blade clutched in his hand. Moonlight glinted on the cool metal. The Nathaniel that was not Nathaniel pricked his thumb on the end of the knife. Nathaniel felt the cold iron blade puncture his skin, stinging it worse than any real blade could.

Nathaniel's double giggled creepily, and rammed the blade into his shoulder. Nathaniel felt it on his own. The coarse sack he was wearing was becoming slowly darker, as his blood spread across it. Nathaniel didn't notice: the pain was like liquid fire. The unnatural twin giggled louder and slowly dragged the impossible blade across his chest, and with a sickening lurch, Nathaniel realised that he was back upstairs, staring at the mirror. He wrenched his hand from his chest, and found that it was covered in sticky red blood that glued his fingers together.

Nathaniel tried to scream – from both the shock and the pain, but all that came out was a manic, high-pitched giggle. He found his arms were rising to his neck, and the knife was still clutched in them. Microseconds before the knife punctured Nathaniel's skin, the orb turned off. Nathaniel was still standing in the dusty, hugely huge room. His clothes, or rather, sack was bereft of any blood. "I am not amused. This will be your punishment if you ever lie to me again," the man said coldly, deaf to Nathaniel's protests that he had told the truth. "Touch the orb again," the man laughed without mirth. Millions of miles away, a faint tingling ran down a certain djinni's 'arms,' as though liquid was pouring down them. Bartimaeus shrugged it off and went back to scaring the crap out of an eight year old girl.


	4. Chapter 3 and a half

**Just to let you know that I _haven't_ abandoned this just yet, I just want to sort out some other stuff first, OK? Good. Remember: patience is a virtue, etc**


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